The Maritime Museum in Rotterdam, Netherlands has opened an exhibition that enables visitors to experience offshore working.

More than fifty companies in the offshore and shipping sector and foundations have taken part in the Offshore Experience which opened in December.

Vstep in collaboration with RH Marine Netherlands donated simulators for the projection of the open sea around the exhibition space. The simulation encompasses a 19x20m space and uses 16 high-resolution projectors that provide a seamless 360-degree view of the ocean around the exhibition’s replica oil platform. Four weather scenarios are projected, ranging from calm waters to massive storms with waves almost reaching the oil platform’s deck.

Vstep, which has been working on the Nautis 3 ocean system for several years, believes the new system marks a new standard for realism in ocean waves.

On the oil platform replica visitors can set out on a challenging search for energy in the form of oil, gas and wind. The simulations show how drilling professionals, crane drivers, wind turbine specialists and helicopter pilots carry out their tasks on the open sea, in a constant battle with the elements.

Museum Director Frits Loomeijer commented: “Vstep’s sea surface allowed us to lift the Offshore Experience to an even higher level than we originally planned. Using the computer-generated sea from Vstep’s new Nautis 3 simulator instead of video recordings taken on an actual offshore oil platform allowed us to take full control over the weather and sea state. Instead of just one weather type, we now managed to show five different weather situations in a loop, contributing to the variety and sense of realism people experience offshore. Vstep’s simulated ocean is so realistic that some of our visitors clamp onto the railing of the oil platform to keep themselves standing!”

The Offshore Experience, which will be housed in the Maritime Museum Rotterdam for seven years, will be updated regularly.